Possibly the best innovation in the last couple of years in smartphones has been the foldable smartphone and with Samsung leading the way everyone has been hoping for a more affordable version to bring it to the masses. Unfortunately, according to the latest reports 2021 will not be the year we see a foldable smartphone from Samsung that has that mass appeal price.
Near universal, those who have used a Samsung foldable smartphone have come away impressed with the new form factor in smartphones but unfortunately the price of them places them out of reach of most users. Although a budget version of the Galaxy Z Fold or Z Flip was expected this year reports out of Samsung now reveal that a chip shortage due to COVID-19 may be preventing the development of the budget line.
Sammobile are reporting that 2021 will see Samsung release a Galaxy Z Flip 2 and a Galaxy Z Fold 3 in the second half of this year with no new lines expected. These two smartphones will arrive in the second half of the year instead of the Galaxy Note 21 which has apparently been canned.
The new report does not mean that there is not one in the works but just that it is not expected to arrive this year. You can be sure that Samsung want to expand the success of their foldables to a greater market and making them more affordable is the easiest way to do this. They have placed a lot of emphasis on their Fan Edition Galaxy smartphone in 2020 so it is possible that a Fan Edition of the Galaxy Z Fold 3 or the Galaxy Z Flip 2 will arrive 6-8 months after the full version — just as the Fan Edition of the Galaxy S line does. If that is the case expect the Fan Edition of a foldable to arrive around this time next year.
Of course, all of this is speculation but having used last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 2 and come away extremely impressed we can only hope that Samsung have a more affordable foldable in the works so more people can enjoy this innovative form factor.
